Cathy Matthews

Catherine Christine Wendy "Cathy" Matthews is the widow of Alan Matthews and sister to Nessa Warner, as well as the aunt and parental figure to her nephew Alex.

Following Alan's death in 2014, Cathy became a compulsive hoarder - this lasted until she met, and began dating, Roy Cropper in April 2015. Roy was able to help Cathy battle her addiction after saving her from a fire when she became trapped in her own home by the clutter she'd acquired. Later that year, Cathy was reunited with her nephew Alex - who had run away from home to stay with her as he had always viewed her as his guardian rather than his wayward mother.

In 2016, Cathy and Roy's relationship was heavily tested - after he declined her proposal of marriage in May, as he still was not over the death of his deceased wife Hayley - and only accepted after she survived being run over by Carla Connor. In September, Cathy was shocked to discover that Alex was the result of an affair between Nessa and Alan and initially rejected him, but ultimately accepted that he was not to blame for the betrayal. In December, Cathy was jilted by Roy prior to their wedding ceremony - after confessing to him that she knew he didn't love her.

In 2017, Cathy began a relationship with Roy's close friend Brian Packham and the pair later moved into 12 Coronation Street together alongside Alex.

Unknown-2014: Secret betrayal and husband's death
In her younger years Cathy met and married Alan Matthews. To Cathy's knowledge the pair lived a peaceful, albeit uneventful life, but unbeknownst to her Alan had embarked on an affair with her sister Nessa - a relationship which resulted in the birth of Cathy's nephew Alex Warner.

When Alex was three his supposed father Nigel Warner discovered his true paternity and stopped paying for maintenance. Nigel threatened Alan for the return of the maintenance that he had already paid for the past three years, and Alan agreed to return the money and begin paying maintenance regularly from then on - all behind Cathy's back. To hide Nigel's absence from Alex's life, Nessa pretended that he was a useless father and couldn't cope with Alex's down syndrome.

In 2014, Alan passed away from liver cancer and Cathy began attempting to take care of his allotment plot. However, due to her grief she was unable to properly attend to the unit and also began to excessively hoard items at home.

2015-2016: Excessive hoarding and relationship with Roy
In April 2015, Cathy was horrified to witness Sharif Nazir discard some unwanted plants onto her husband's plot. Cathy furiously chastised Sharif, causing Roy Cropper to step in and suggest that they could help do some work on Alan's overgrown plot in way of an apology - and to stop Cathy from reporting Sharif to the allotment committee.

Cathy later returned and apologised to the men for her heated outburst, telling them that she'd been having a bad day. Sharif accepted her apology and left, exhausted by his extra effort, but Roy decided to stay behind to continue the work. When he had finished for the day, Roy decided to invite Cathy to share a cup of tea from his flask. Cathy agreed and the pair sat and talked for a while, when Cathy discovered that Roy's wife Hayley had also passed away from cancer the year prior - she began to open up about Alan's death and explained that the allotment was his pride and joy as he found sanity in the peace and quiet.

Despite warming to Roy, Cathy later overheard him and Sharif talking about taking over Cathy's allotment plot and tore a strip off him. However, Roy had only been thinking of proposing the suggestion to her. A few days later, Cathy turned up at Roy's Rolls after calming down - but she lost her nerve and left. It was almost a month until Roy saw Cathy again, when she turned up offering to sell Alan's elder-flower cordial - although the sample that she brought had turned alcoholic. When Roy discovered that the reason Cathy had been so desperate to sell the elder-flower was because she was unable to pay the allotment fee, he offered her several hours of paid work at the cafe - rather than have her lose her dignity with a charitable offer.

Roy and Cathy soon began a firm friendship, however when Fiz Stape returned from looking after her mother - she began to become suspicious of Cathy as she didn't believe the stories of her freezer and boiler packing in. After sharing her suspicions with Roy, he and his friend Carla Connor turned up at Cathy's house to investigate and were horrified to find bailiffs knocking on the door and Cathy shouting at them from a window. The bailiffs left after being persuaded by Roy and Carla, and Cathy reluctantly let the pair in. Roy was shocked to discover that not only was Cathy seriously in debt but she was also a compulsive hoarder.

Roy attempted to persuade Cathy to change her habits, but after throwing out some of her junk - Cathy was overwhelmed by guilt and ordered him to leave. However, deciding that Roy was right - she decided to bake a cake for him but became trapped by a large heap of clutter. Luckily Roy returned to Cathy's house and was able to rescue her but after that he became insistent that she moved in with him at 16a Victoria Street as he deemed her house too dangerous.

Soon after, Roy treats Cathy to a day out at an art gallery - while Fiz, her partner Tyrone and brother Chesney all help to clear out Cathy's house. When Roy returned Cathy to the house to show her the results - she broke down and ordered everyone but Roy to leave. Roy was able to convince Cathy that the hoarding posed a risk to her safety and she decided that, while it was for her own good, she wouldn't be able to move back straight away. After a few weeks more living at Roy's Cathy was able to move back into her house, but Roy was able to persuade her to keep in contact as he revealed that Fiz's daughter Hope was suffering from cancer and that he needed someone to confide in.

In September 2015, Cathy revealed to Anna Windass that she had developed feelings for Roy but feared that their friendship would be ruined if he were to find out. However, when Cathy's nephew Alex arrived he was able to notice Cathy's feelings straight away and teased her and Roy about how close they'd become. Roy was upset and embarrassed about Alex's comments and began to distance himself from Cathy, but Carla was able to assure him that starting a relationship with Cathy wouldn't be betraying Hayley. Roy eventually decided to open up to Cathy about his feelings but was shocked to discover that she had departed, fortunately the bus taking her away from Weatherfield broke down and he was able to catch up with her. Expressing his love for her, the pair passionately kissed and Cathy agreed to stay.

Not long after, Cathy's sister Nessa arrived on the street looking for Alex - who had run away from home. When Cathy explained that he wasn't with her, Roy was able to form a search party and recruited Ken Barlow and Audrey Roberts. Upon finding Alex drinking in the Rovers Return, Nessa was relieved - and took a shine to Ken due to his support in helping find her son. Much to Cathy's disappointment, Nessa landed a job at Audrey's salon as a hairdresser and began dating Ken - meaning that she would be remaining in Weatherfield. Nessa's presence also garnered the disapproval of Tracy Barlow, Ken's adopted daughter (who thought that he had moved on too soon after his wife Deirdre's death) as well as Audrey (who had developed strong feelings for the widower but failed to tell him) - making Cathy hopeful that her stay would be cut short.

By January 2016, Cathy had began to warm to Nessa once more - and confided in her sister that her New Year's resolution would be to de-clutter the rest of her home. However, Nessa didn't believe that she would be able to do it by herself - and revealed that if she succeeded she would cook her and Roy a meal at Ken's house - and so Cathy secretly enlisted Roy's help. Upon sorting through Alan's paperwork, Roy uncovered some old love letters from Nessa. Surprised by the discovery, Roy confronted Nessa - and she begged him to destroy the letters. Roy was given food for thought when Nessa pointed out how fragile Cathy was and remarked that this discovery would destroy her.

Despite still being unsure what the right thing to do would be, Roy agreed to help take Nessa to Cathy's house in order to destroy the letters. Although, Cathy had already stumbled across the letters herself and threw Nessa out. When Roy let slip that he had found the letters a day earlier and was planning to get rid of them, Cathy called time on their relationship and asked him to leave.

Upon reading the letters again, Cathy tearfully decided to dispose of them herself by setting them on fire in a bin - but when she briefly left the room, the fire had become out of control. Roy ordered Nessa to call round to Cathy's house to apologise - when the pair arrived they spotted the blaze. Roy risked his own life by barging in to safe Cathy, while Nessa called for the emergency services. Following her near death experience, Cathy took Roy back and Nessa departed the street - after Ken finished their relationship due to learning of her actions.

Over the course of the next few months, Roy allowed Cathy to move in with him permanently and while he was away caring for his mother Sylvia Goodwin she also invited Alex to move in full-time. During Roy's absence, Cathy was able to realise that she would like to spend the rest of her life with him and began to consider proposing upon his return with both Alex and Anna convincing her to do so. In May, Roy returned but was too busy focusing on Carla's upcoming wedding to Nick Tilsley that Cathy didn't have the chance to pop the question. Cathy told herself that when Carla's wedding was out of the way she'd be given her chance, although Carla's wedding ceremony did take place (even after the revelation from Tracy that Carla had slept with her boyfriend Robert Preston) Nick had a change of heart at the reception and announced he would annul their marriage.

Noticing Roy's distress, Cathy attempted to help make his day better by getting down on one knee and asked him to marry her. Roy, too worried about Carla, simply told her "no" and left her to fetch his vehicle. Cathy was left embarrassed, and admitted to Alex about what had happened. Alex was able to point out that Roy had too much on his mind worrying about Carla, and suggested that they buy some chocolates at the Corner Shop. However, when they left the shop Cathy was accidentally ran over by Carla as she sped round a corner in her car.

Cathy was rushed to Weatherfield General and admitted for observation and treatment. Roy remained by Cathy's side and turned on Carla. When Carla decided to leave, Roy was tempted to let her go without saying goodbye, but Cathy was able to convince him that he'd regret ending their friendship like that. When Cathy was discharged from hospital, Roy began caring for her - unbeknownst to Cathy he was planning to terminate their relationship when he returned.

Roy attempted to ignore Cathy's previous proposal but, when he couldn't put it off any longer, he eventually agreed that he would marry her.

2016: Accepting Alex and being jilted by Roy
In September, Alex expressed that he wanted to become more independent and move on from living with her and Roy. Cathy helped him look into some options and he became interested in purchasing one of Pat Phelan and Vinny Ashford's dodgy flats. Upon learning that they would need a deposit for the flat, Cathy decided to challenge Alex's absent father Nigel for the money. However, Nigel was extremely hostile towards Cathy when she turned up at his house to ask for the money. After Nigel let slip that someone else had been paying for Alex's maintenance, Cathy investigated and made the shocking discovery that it had been her husband, Alan.

Later, Cathy revealed to her close friend Yasmeen Nazir that she believed that Alex was a result of the affair between her husband and her sister. In order to get closure once and for all, Cathy visited Nigel again - this time he confessed everything, that he found out about Alex's true paternity when he was three but decided to remain silent for both her and Alex's sake. Despite this, Cathy was shocked to discover that Alex had known all along about Alan being his biological father.

The revelation caused Cathy to become distressed and she began to mistreat Alex, unable to accept him due to the constant reminder of the betrayal. Alex soon announced that he was moving away from Weatherfield and returning to his mother in Scotland. However, Roy was saddened to see him go as he had grown fond of him. Roy claimed that he believed Cathy's treatment of Alex was wrong, and decided that he wanted time away from their relationship. Although, Cathy was later able to put aside her pain and call a truce with Alex - who decided to remain in Weatherfield.

Due to Cathy being the bigger person and forgiving Alex, Roy took her back and the pair began planning for their upcoming wedding. Roy felt nervous and unsure, which was in complete contract with Cathy's obvious excitement. In December, Nessa returned for the wedding - and revealed that she desperately wanted to be involved in the wedding. Nessa's return amplified Roy's stress and he began developing rashes and sleepwalking, before suffering from a panic attack at Nick's Bistro. Despite all of this, Roy agreed to go ahead with the wedding just to keep Cathy happy.

Roy's true feelings were revealed when his confession to Tyrone and Brian Packham, about only marrying Cathy because of the promise he made to her when she proposed, was accidentally recorded on the dictaphone that she had been using to recite her vows. On the day of the wedding, Cathy was shocked to hear that Roy had banned Tyrone and Brian from attending - as they had tried to convince him not to go through with the marriage if it wasn't what he wanted.

Outside the church, Cathy decided to have one more listen to her vows - but was able to hear everything Roy had expressed earlier. Discovering Roy's true feelings made Cathy unable to go through with the wedding, and she calmly finished their relationship at the alter - suggesting that they could at least remain close friends. Roy was enthusiastic at the idea of them splitting, and a crushed Cathy decided to move into 6 Coronation Street with her friend Yasmeen. Before Nessa went back to Inverness, the sisters got drunk together and reminisced.

During this time Cathy also left her job at Roy's Roll, as she didn't believe she'd be able to face seeing Roy every day, and was forced to look for a new job as well as a new residence. However, Yasmeen made it clear that there was no rush and that she was always welcome - although due to spacing issues Alex moved into a shared accommodation flat for people with special needs.

2017-2018: Moving on and secret relationship with Brian
In early 2017, Cathy began looking for a new job due to her recent resignation from the cafe - not long after she was taken on at both Prima Doner and the Corner Shop by Dev Alahan. Following her departure from Roy's flat, Roy's friend Brian began to lodge with him - although Roy much preferred living on his own. Brian's presence at the flat soon caused problems between him and Roy, so Cathy stepped in to help Brian understand his new flatmate a little better and give him some tips on how to win Roy over.

While working at the kebab shop Cathy began to build strong friendships with her manager Chesney and colleague Gemma Winter, and took Chesney's side when his girlfriend Sinead Tinker entered into an affair with Daniel Osbourne. By March 2017, Cathy had realised that she had a crush on Brian but decided not to do anything about it - due to the fact that he was a close friend of Roy's. However, returning from a night out with Gemma, Cathy ended up making a drunken fool of herself by being sick on Brian's shoes. The next day Cathy was full of regret, believing that Brian would never feel the same way for her - but she was left presently surprised when he admitted his true feelings for her.

The pair agreed to keep their relationship a secret, and began meeting up at No.6 in order to be intimate - much to the annoyance of Yasmeen, her grandson Zeedan and his wife Rana. Upon stumbling across Brian in the kitchen wearing only an apron and briefs, Zeedan ordered Yasmeen to get rid of her friends. However, Yasmeen was uncomfortable with the request and decided to slyly convince the pair to go public with their relationship - so that they would have no reason to frequent the house so much.

In June, Cathy and Brian went back to Roy's flat for a drink while he was away bat watching - they planned to have left before he returned but Cathy became stuck in the bathroom. Zeedan bumped into Roy on the street and cunningly convinced him to return to his flat, as he had seen Cathy and Brian both go in earlier, and pretended that Brian needed to tell him something important. Roy walked in on Brian attempting to unlock the bathroom door, and Brian panicked and admitted that his date had been accidentally locked in but that everything was under control. Roy suggested that he assisted in getting her out of the bathroom but Brian attempted to have him believe that his date was painfully shy - however, Roy noticed Cathy's coat and rumbled the pair's relationship.

Roy Cropper
Cathy and Roy decide to stay friends.

First and last lines
"Excuse me, what's going on here?!" (First line to Sharif Nazir and Roy Cropper)

Appendices
(To be completed)